European Firms See Windfall in Renewable Energy

European governments failed to help along an international treaty to stop global warming at the United Nations climate change summit in December, but their engineering and power industries see business opportunities in renewable energy sources and their smart management

Projects to improve the environmental footprint of the European energy sector, and help reduce greenhouse gases (GhG) emissions on the continent include an international grid that intelligently manages energy generated by the numerous wind farms installed offshore across the North Atlantic and the North Sea and other renewable energy sources.

Delegates from Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden met in December, to start preparations for the creation of the new grid.

A second meeting, scheduled for Feb. 9, will see delegates from these countries joined by executives of power operators in Berlin to create an international coordination group that will be ready to start construction in 2011.

The new grid expected to be up and running by 2020 will cost some 30 billion Euros (43 billion US dollars).